


Sometimes life isn't as hard as we think it is

by Nix_X



Series: Match Made in Heaven?- No. [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angry Sex, BAMF Wanda Maximoff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Language, M/M, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-17 13:44:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11852808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nix_X/pseuds/Nix_X
Summary: Tony and Wanda's journey from wanting to kill each other to maybe ...not doing that.Edit-It is not necessary to have read Part 1 of this series to read this but  you would understand this better if you read that first





	1. Chapter 1

 Tony smiled as he walked down the street. The August sunshine danced on the pavement making intricate patterns and he felt unaccountably happy as he traced them with the tip of his shoe. It was good to be back.

His two and a half months of summer break had consisted of finding a therapist he didn’t hate and getting his life back on track. He had even started attending AA meetings to observe and that had really helped. Listening to people who had gone through this wretched spiral had made him feel both grateful that he hadn’t ended up there and humbled at the same time. These guys had managed to work their way up from the pits of hell.

He might as well get some coffee to celebrate. Tony realised he was outside Annette’s Coffee and hesitated for a moment before pushing the door in. She would hardly be here after all. After the settlement they had received, neither of the Maximoff kids needed to work to get through college.

He grabbed his coffee and a bagel and made his way over to the same table he had sat at the last time he had been here. Only it was already occupied. By a very familiar figure.

Tony paused. The last time he had seen her, she had been in his hospital room barely managing to get the words of what appeared to be an apology out of her mouth while he had watched with unholy glee. She had stumbled and floundered and finally flounced out with a “Fuck You, I’m Sorry okay!”  He just wasn’t sure whether he was up to seeing her today.

Coming to a decision he slid into a seat opposite her. Confront your ghosts, right doc?

“Hey”

Wanda tensed but gave a stiff nod. She was sitting with her legs crossed in the Indian fashion, her hair piled on top of her head and what appeared to be nearly a dozen flyers spread out in front of her. Experience had taught Tony to say nothing so he did just that, taking a sip of his coffee and turning his attention to the day’s news on his Starkpad.

After a few moments she huffed. “I am looking for place to stay” she said wearily. He shrugged. “I didn’t ask”

“No, but you were thinking it”

“Was not” he replied, though he was in fact thinking it. With her, you never knew.

“Any luck?”

Wanda sighed and muttered something that he thought was a No. He knew he was pushing his luck but he couldn’t help asking more. “Why not? You have money now”

She glared at him. “Money isn’t everything _Stark._ Unlike you we don’t want to throw it away. I am looking for regular place close to school but every time something goes wrong”

Tony licked the cream cheese off his finger. Oh he loved this. “Why?” he asked again grinning as she glowered, no doubt remembering the time when she had been the one to do this to him. Luckily she didn’t grab the plate and smash it over his head although he could definitely tell she was thinking it.

“Because no one wants roommate or rents to person with criminal record, jackass!”

He bit his lip praying that he could keep himself from laughing out loud. “Karma is a bitch isn’t it?” he asked sweetly. She gnashed her teeth.

“Get lost” she spat.

He smirked and went back to sipping his coffee as she tried more and more numbers, growing even more frustrated with each call. Apparently the only places she could get were either beyond her budget or a dump in the worst part of town.

He didn’t know what possessed him but after the thirtieth screaming match which had the sweet little lady at the counter looking askance at them Tony leaned forward.

“I have a place of my own. It’s a two bedroom. You can room with me if you want”

She paused and looked up at him, her eyes dark with suspicion. “Why?” she demanded and he rolled his eyes. “Save the innocent act, princess. You are the last person I would look at that way. No, this is because I love the idea of doing you a favour and reminding you of that, every single time I meet you”

There wouldn’t be much left of her teeth if she kept this up he noted idly, as he watched her mouth move with interest.

“Where is it?” she finally asked with obvious reluctance. Yup, she was in. “About ten minutes walking distance from your school”

She closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “I want to see it” she finally muttered. “The rent however-“

“The rent can be whatever you want it to be” Tony said bluntly. “But here’s the deal. I have…stuff- I am dealing with. I go to see a therapist once a week and I attend- meetings and I don’t want to hear a single nasty comment from you about either of those things. You cross that line and I will toss you out without a second’s thought”

“I agree” she said stiffly. “I don’t do that. I only yell at people for being assholes, not for having…problems”

“Yeah well, try not to yell at all” Tony replied testily, beginning to regret his impulsive offer. What had he been thinking? His doctor had told him he needed to be in a stable environment and she was as unstable as they came.

“I play the violin” she said suddenly. “That is what I am studying. You can’t complain about noise”

“Depends” he smirked. “Are you any good?”

She growled.

 

******************************************************

 

 

Tony unlocked the door and nearly fell inside. Groaning, he made his way over to his couch and flopped down gratefully. It had been a long, hard day- first at class, then at the lab.

“Here”. He opened his eyes to find a steaming cup of green tea below his nose. “Take it if you want it. I don’t have time” Wanda grumbled. He wrinkled his nose, it was tea- he didn’t drink _tea,_ but he took it from her all the same.

“Do you ever smile?” he asked idly as she made her way over to the kitchen counter where she was apparently finishing some sort of an assignment.

She didn’t even bother to reply. Two months of living together had severely diminished his ability to get a rise out of her and all he got was a half-hearted glare.

Living with her had been surprisingly easy, he thought with something approaching incredulity. They had fallen into a routine of sorts which had been…nice. Every day he would tramp into the kitchen only to find her already there, eating her healthy weird breakfast composed of fruits. At first she had said nothing as he grabbed his own breakfast consisting of an oversized cup of coffee but as each day went by he had seen the lines around her mouth deepen and deepen until she had finally slammed a bowl of cereal in front of him with a frustrated admonition to “eat something, you idiot, I can’t call  police when you die because you are moron”.

After that it had been easy. They had divided up the chores in that, she took care of the groceries, the housekeeping service etc and he took care of whatever she told him to take care of. It was easier than arguing with her. While they tended to spend most off their day except the mornings separately, on one or two rare occasions they had actually had dinner together. The discovery that she had a sense of humour hidden away behind the bitch face had almost sent him into shock.

Wanda had also been surprisingly considerate about his- issues. She never asked him about his AA meetings or sessions and he had been touched to find that both their refrigerator and shared living space was completely free of alcohol. It had been something he had been dreading. In fact the only time she had broken loose at his friends was when Clint had shown up with a six-pack and she had slammed the door in his face. Rhodey had nearly laughed to death when he had heard that.

“I got the papayas” Tony said, watching her as she frowned in concentration at something she had written. “I still think they are a horrendous fruit but I got them. Did you get the milk?”

She nodded, absent-mindedly scratching her face with her pen. “Fridge” she replied.

Tony decided to move to his bedroom. He needed to sleep. Standing up, he made his way to his room when her voice made him pause. “Dr Bauerstein’s office called” she said. ”They moved your appointment to Wednesday because the doctor has something on Thursday”.

He waited. When after five minutes it became obvious that she wasn’t going to say anything else he asked “That’s it? No snide remark?”

She cast him a look of contempt. “You are idiot Stark. I already told you- I don’t yell at people for having problems. Stop expecting me to”

He stared at her as she turned back to whatever she was reading. She was a music student, what the hell did she have to read?

He turned back to enter his room. Okay then. That was that.


	2. Chapter 2

The mournful tones of the violin smote his ears as he took off his noise cancelling headphones and leaned back in his chair, exhausted. Tony closed his eyes for a minute, enjoying the music.

She hadn’t been kidding when she had said that she was good. From his limited knowledge of classical music he could tell that she was very good. Sometimes she would play classical pieces like Bach or Tchaikovsky which he remembered from all the concerts his mother had dragged him to when he had been young. But sometimes, like now, she would let loose and truth be told he liked these way more than when she stuck to script.

Once he had woken up to find her sawing away at the violin furiously, the notes ringing with anger and passion. It transpired that one of her Professors had given her a B+.

Once he returned from class to find the apartment echoing with heartache as Wanda sat on top of the kitchen counter and played in some sort of a trance while their cleaning lady, Maria sobbed on the sofa. He hadn’t said anything about it to her afterwards but his early research into the Maximoffs had told him that it had been her father’s birthday.

And now she was upset. Not upset like grieving upset, it was more of an annoyed upset. Something simple then. Probably her favourite store had run out of green tea. Or Pietro hadn’t bothered to call today.

Wondering whether it was worth it he gingerly pushed his bedroom door open and made his way into No Man’s Land. Hesitating outside her bedroom door, he lifted a hand to knock.

“Come in” she called out, her voice sullen. She was definitely annoyed about something.

“Everything okay?” he asked cautiously , pushing the door open only to be brought up short by the mountain of clothes heaped on her bed. For a brief moment he wondered if the woman he had been living with for the last few months had been kidnapped and replaced with someone else. The Wanda he knew couldn’t bear disorder of any sort. Dirty dishes and overflowing trash cans had the same effect on her that the sight of the American flag had on Kim Jong Un. Sometimes he would leave dishes out purposefully just for the sheer pleasure of watching her march over to the sink with them, cursing him with every breath. He had done that until she had threatened to break them over his head.

She was sitting in a chair near the window, dressed in nothing but a bathrobe and holding her violin.

“I have date” she replied grumpily making him give a choked laugh.

“Pardon me if I am wrong, but aren’t you supposed to enjoy going on dates?” he inquired in as polite a tone as he could manage which didn’t fool her one bit.

“I don’t know what to wear” she said resentfully. He forced back another laugh and walked over to her wrecked bed. “Would you accept my help or would bite my head off for even thinking of helping you?” he asked cheerfully.

She stared at him suspiciously. “What do you know about girl dressing up?” she demanded, regarding him as if he had just informed her he worked for the mob.

He smirked. “My dear, innocent, soul- before I ended up like this I used to be the life and soul of any and every party that was worth a mention in NYC. And not to brag, but I have a little experience with the ladies too”

“I know” she said, giving him a disgusted glance. “I have heard the rumours”

He brushed away the twinge of shame he felt at her look and focused his attention back on what was _really_ important. ”So who better to tell you what to wear to entice a guy than me?”

Fifteen minutes later Wanda stood staring at herself in the mirror while Tony whistled and catcalled from his position on her bed. “That’s the one” he said.

“Are you sure?” she asked, taking stock of the white wool knit crop top and the tight black jeans dubiously. “It is not too much?”

“Trust me if he doesn’t kiss you at the end of the date with you wearing that, he is gay. You do want to be kissed don’t you?” he asked, laughing at the expression on her face.

“Ye-es” she said doubtfully “But not if he is creepy”

Tony shrugged. “If he is creepy then handle him the way you normally handle creeps. What do you do, exactly? Strangle them? Stab them?”

She half glared, half sighed. “I yell at them. If it is too difficult I call Pietro. He is not here now” she said, a forlorn note creeping into her voice.

Tony frowned. “Well then if you run into trouble with this guy or any guy, then call me” he said firmly. Wanda swivelled to meet his eyes, distrust and gratitude battling it out in her eyes. “Really?” she asked, her voice making it clear that she was having a hard time believing him.

Tony sighed. “I am not a monster you know”

She said nothing. Apparently accepting his choice she sat down in front of the mirror to do –things to her face while he looked on critically.

“Who is this guy?” Tony asked, frowning as she drew a brush over her eyelids. “Keep it light” he added making her throw him a questioning look.

“The thing you are doing to your eyes” he clarified. “They are pretty much your best feature and you don’t want to go out looking like you burnt the skin around them”

Said eyes flashed fire. Furiously grabbing a tissue, she spat something at him which he had by now recognized to be a Sokovian curse word.

“His name is Steve” she muttered as she swept the brush over her skin again. He nodded approvingly as this time she did it perfectly making the green eyes stand out and glow. She really had beautiful eyes, crystal clear but giving you the impression of being bottomless.

“He used to work with Pietro in the construction crew. Pietro said he is a good man” Wanda continued, turning her attention to the rest of her face. She sighed in exasperation at the sight of Tony’s disapproving face when she picked up the red lipstick and put it down, finishing off her look with lip gloss and powder.

“Nice” Tony said appreciatively. “Whoever this guy is, he will be knocked clean off his feet”

“Thank you” she replied stiffly just in time as the doorbell rang.

Three hours later Tony was startled as she walked in through the front door, a glum look on her face. She didn’t say anything but silently sat down next to him on the brown couch where he had been engaged in illegally downloading the latest leaked GOT episode.

“What happened? Blonde god who I sent you away with turned out to be a jackass?” The guy _had_ looked like an advertisement for the All-American boy, but you never knew.

She shook her head. “He was nice guy” she said in a small voice.

“Took you somewhere you hated?”

Another shake of her head. ”Museum and dinner. It was nice”

“Didn’t kiss you?”

She sniffed. “He did” she admitted, the crestfallen expression becoming more pronounced.

“And?” Tony asked again, getting worried now. She didn’t look like she had been attacked but this was the twenty first century and there were all sorts of creeps running around.

She sniffed again. “He was gay”

Tony bit his lip. Do not laugh, do not laugh….

Hang on. “Your brother set you up with someone who was gay?” Even for a prank this seemed really mean.

Wanda shook her head again. “Steve didn’t want to be gay. He had feelings for his neighbour but he didn’t want them so he thought he would go out with me so that the feelings would go away”

“Dick” Tony said clearly.

Wanda’s chin was wobbling now. “And he told me after he kissed me that he had really strong feelings for his neighbour, this Bucky and that he was sorry!”

Gingerly Tony wrapped an arm around her and gave her a side hug. He was sorry for Steve’s emotional dilemmas but he didn’t get to do that to a girl.

“My kisses make people go gay” she said darkly, angrily brushing tears away.

Tony gave a muffled laugh before hastily rearranging his features as she turned to glare at him. ”Tell you what” he said comfortingly “Why don’t we make a night out of this? You make popcorn while I plug this latest episode of Game of Thrones into our beautiful flatscreen which we never use and we can enjoy some time in  Westeros watching dragons burn shit “

She thought for a moment. “Okay” she finally said. “But I will close my eyes whenever this Cersei appears. She makes my spine curl”

“Its toes curl and Cersei is the most interesting character in GOT” Tony replied calmly, grinning as he found his ears assaulted by a half English-half Sokovian diatribe.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony studied the many types of cereal in front of him with a jaded eye. Living with a woman who was adamant on the subject of healthy breakfasts meant that he had to be very careful about what he was bringing back home. Which was why he had been standing in this aisle of the supermarket for the last ten minutes, debating the relative merits of Lucky Charms versus Honey Nut Cheerios.

A man tried to manoeuvre past him and ended up nearly shoving him face first into the rack carrying boxes of Frosted Flakes. An irritated retort on the tip of his tongue, he wheeled around to give the man a piece of his mind only to freeze when he caught sight of his face.

“Happy”

Happy said nothing but watched Tony warily, his eyes moving to Tony’s jaw and up again. Tony smiled bitterly. The last time he had met Happy, he had just walked out of Howard’s stupid house leaving behind everyone and everything that entailed including his bodyguard Mr Hogan. They had fought, Tony had accused Happy of being a back stabbing jackass and Happy had finally clocked him in the jaw when Tony had roared at him if he enjoyed fucking Pepper.

He probably had deserved that one, Tony thought absently but he had just been so _hurt._ Rhodey was his best friend but Happy had been his buddy and Tony had trusted him with everything he had held dear, including Pepper. To find out that the guy you had watched the Mets with while devouring chicken wings and screaming insults and the guy who had carefully escorted you back to your apartment after Howard had decided to use you as a punching bag after having one drink too many, even tucking you in – to find out that that guy had been fucking your girlfriend behind your back…

Tony hastily swallowed down the memories and turned to leave. He needed to get out of here. He needed to go home where he could find some peace and quiet. And Wanda.

The Steve fiasco had been two weeks ago and he had been avoiding her a little since then, guilt rising in his throat as he thought back to the events of that night.

_They had finally come to an end of their GOT s7 marathon and she stretched out with a yawn. Somehow her feet had ended up in his lap and he realised with a start that he had been giving her a foot rub._

_“That was nice” she said sleepily. He snorted at that. “You made me skip over most of the Cersei parts” he complained only to be met with a haughty look._

_“Spine curl”_

_“Its toes curl” he repeated, shaking his head. ”How is it that your brother speaks such excellent English while you come out with things like ‘spine curl’?”_

_She gave him a small secretive smile. “When we first went to school in America we were both eleven” she said, her eyes dimming a little. “The children would laugh at us because of how we spoke. Sometimes they would beat us up. Pietro- he didn’t give up. He joined sports, he made friends with them and he taught himself to talk like them. I would go back home and practice in front of my mirror my Sokovian accent and I would watch Sokovian movies and read Sokovian books to make sure that I would never speak like them”. She gurgled. ”It made them so mad when they kept beating me and laughing at me but I didn’t seem to care”_

_Tony stared at her half in exasperation and half in amusement. “That is the most disturbing and also the most Wanda thing I’ve ever heard” he said, drawing an answering smile from her._

_“I should go to sleep” she said, yawning. “I have class tomorrow. So do you”_

_Tony groaned.” Ugh I am going to have to contemplate non-linear electro-osmotic flow tomorrow on two hours of sleep. At least tell me you had fun” he said, craning his head to look at her. She smiled softly at him making him blink his eyes in surprise. Wanda never smiled softly, never did anything softly. She either glowered or beamed. It was always the extremes with her, never the middle ground._

_“It was nice” she agreed. “Except for Steve” she continued, her eyes darkening._

_“Fuck Steve” Tony said lazily. Wanda clearly didn’t want to. “He didn’t kiss you then say he was gay” she snarked back at him._

_Tony must have gone temporarily mad because the next moment he found himself hovering over Wanda’s surprised face , his eyes fixed on that slightly jutting lower lip still glimmering from the gloss she had applied earlier. He hesitated for a moment then lowered his head._

_She tasted like lemons, he thought blissfully as he sucked down on her lower lip in an effort to get his tongue inside her mouth. It was so like her, sour with a tingling sweetness hidden away. Wanda who had stiffened at first had now relaxed, twining her hands around his neck and allowing him to push her back onto the couch as he rolled on top of her. Her mouth opened under his ministrations and he nearly groaned in delight as he gained entry to her cavern._

_What had originally intended to be a short sweet kiss turned into something more as Tony found himself losing his thread of control, the feel of his tongue tangling with hers making him dizzy with need. Christ it had been so long, so long and he needed more, he needed too much. She was whining underneath him now, clinging onto him which only spurred him on and Tony found himself rutting against her even as his tongue plundered her mouth._

_“No” she gasped, pulling away from him and pushing against his chest with both her hands. Dazed he allowed her to push him away from her and watched as she scrambled off the couch, her face bright red._

_“I must- go” she stuttered before running into her room and slamming the door leaving Tony to bury his head in his hands and contemplate poisoning himself._

Tony came back to earth as the doorman to his building patted him on his shoulder gingerly. Apparently he had blanked out in front of his own building. Sighing, he made his way up.

Wanda had been unexpectedly decent about the whole thing, he thought with a self-loathing smile. He had been terrified that the incident had damaged the tentative friendship they had built up or even worse made her interpret their relationship differently all because he had thought with his cock for five minutes instead of his head.

Luckily she had seemed content to pretend that it had never happened, never mentioning it and treating him just as she had before. She probably didn’t want a relationship with him just as much as he didn’t want one with her. If anything, the encounter with Happy had reinforced his belief that he was better off without the additional baggage of a girlfriend.

Still he had to be careful. It had been nothing but pure lust born of the fact that he hadn’t slept with anyone for about six months now that made him pounce on Wanda that night, but a few more slips of control like that and he might end up ruining everything.

Turning the key in the door, he pushed it open only to find Wanda baking. That had been another hobby of hers he had been pleased to discover. Watching her now with, swathed in an apron almost three sizes too big for her , frowning as she measured flour into a cup he couldn’t help but smile. She looked so…cute.

“Did you bring cereal?” she demanded sternly. He responded by holding up the box of Lucky Charms making her beam.

He chuckled as he closed the door behind him. Yup they were fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Wanda stared helplessly at Tony. “What do I wear to restaurant where all will be blindfolded?” she asked Tony who was staring at her closet, his lips twitching.

Wanda had been dating this guy, Vision, yes that’s right he was actually named Vision, for a couple of weeks now. Vision was the son of a British Lord and a ukulele player from Delaware who had decided to buck the norm and travel the world to find enlightenment. Their one offspring had been carted along on this journey with them and he certainly showed every sign of being enlightened. Vision played the flute, was a Buddhist, a transcendentalist and an anthroposophist and also a student of Brazilian jiu-jitsu which as he had informed Tony politely, was a derivative of Jujutsu, not Jujutsu. He had seemed almost pained that Tony could make such a mistake.

“Wait, if you are going to be blindfolded how will you eat?” Tony asked, picking up a black leather jacket and tossing it aside. Probably best not to show up wearing tanned animal skin to a date with a guy who tears up at the site of a junk truck emitting puffs of smoke.

“I do not know!” Wanda exclaimed, clearly frustrated with the whole process.” Vision tells me it will increase appreciation of food. I don’t know how we will eat but”

Tony chuckled. “Weirdly enough I like that man but you have to admit, Wanda – he is strange”

“So very strange” Wanda agreed fervently as she rejected option after option. Tony laughed at that. “If he is so strange, why are you dating him?”

She considered that for a moment. “He is –kind” she said slowly. ”He is different but kind. And good”. She smiled in the exact same way a five year old who had just managed to add up seven and three would have smiled. For some reason, Tony felt unsettled.

He felt even more annoyed as he bid Vision and Wanda farewell on their adventure to fully appreciate the miracle that was food-Vision’s words, not his. For the first time in months, he felt that angry, troubled feeling coming back and with a start of horror he realised he was longing for a drink.

No. Not that.

Sternly he turned his focus back on his latest project. Maybe it was time to call Sam. He had only attended the AA meetings as an observer rather than a participant and he hadn’t felt the need to go for some time now but Sam had been the closest thing he had to a sponsor .At one of Tony’s last meetings he had given Tony his number and instructed him sternly to call him anytime he felt he was spiralling out of control.

Shaking his head, Tony returned to his work.


	5. Chapter 5

The stadium was packed as Tony and Rhodey guided Wanda to their seats, Vision following closely behind. It was the Mets versus the Yankees and all of New York had turned out to cheer for their team. Vision who appeared to be awed by the spectacle didn’t take his eyes off the crowd while Wanda who was only here because Tony had bribed her with cotton candy, gave a bored sniff. Tony grinned as Rhodey helped her into her seat before starting to point out the players and describe their positions.

Rhodey and Wanda was a perfect example of first impressions meaning nothing. Originally hating each other on spot, they had later formed an uneasy truce, bonding over keeping Tony on the straight and narrow. Now, Tony smiled fondly, they were almost friends. He was as certain as he could be that Rhodey was very fond of Wanda although Rhodey would deny it to his dying day.

Recalling that their group consisted of another person Tony turned to listen to Vision’s raptures , grinning as he heard Wanda laughingly berate Rhodey for trying to convince her that Hank Aaron had actually been the Lord in human form.

“Fucking commie”

Tony stiffened and his eyes zoned in on the couple of twenty something year olds sitting directly in front of them who were eyeing Wanda with disgust.

Pushing away Vision’s restraining arm and his whispered “Ignore them” Tony leaned forward catching the attention of the idiots. Keeping his voice deliberately quiet to avoid attracting Wanda’s scrutiny he asked “What did you just say, asshole?”

The man to whom Tony had addressed his question turned red. Looking closer at them Tony realised that they weren’t as young as all that. The buzz cut really helped with disguising the aging, he thought with a disgusted smirk.

The two were obviously spoiling for a fight. Standing up, the other man turned to face Tony and poked a finger at his chest. “You wanna know what I said? “He yelled, successfully drawing the attention of every idiot in the vicinity. “Ok here’s what I said. I called her a commie slut”

Tony didn’t hesitate for even a second before sending his fist smashing into the idiot’s face.

 

 

************************************************************

 

 

“You are idiot” Wanda hissed furiously as she swabbed at Tony’s split lip with the antiseptic. He winced but didn’t say anything. She was in a bad enough mood as it was and he didn’t fancy adding a couple more bruises to join the split lip and the one blooming on his right cheek.

The fight had erupted into an all-out brawl which Tony had no doubt would be captured picturesquely by tomorrow’s tabloids. In between punching some guy’s nose in and providing Rhodey cover, he had struggled to get Wanda out of there, forgetting who he was dealing with. She had punched someone in the gut and grabbed his coke, sprayed it on the combatants and proceeded to take advantage of their momentary surprise by grabbing both Tony and Rhodey by the hair and dragging them out of there. Poor Vision had been half inclined to stay and apologize but had evidently decided that he would be betraying his anthroposophic principles if he stayed.

“How is Vision?” he asked cautiously, leaning back slightly in case the bomb decided to blow. Her lip curled.

“Good. Luckily he does not have habit of barking back at street dogs”

Tony winced.

“Also we broke up”

“What?!”

She shrugged, not appearing too concerned with this new development. ” He was upset, poor man. I know you laugh but he believes strongly in what he believes. Nonviolence is important to him. It was only kind to let him go”

“Oh” Tony said blankly. “And you are okay with that?”

She shrugged again. “He was sweet and good.  But I couldn’t really see him as boyfriend”

Tony grinned. ”Oh come now” he teased “What about that nudist colony he wanted to take you to, to quote- experience humanity at its most spiritual?”

She threw the dirty towel on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony swung his knee back and forth and tried to match the pace with the tapping of his fingers. Howard had demanded an audience and so here he was at Stark tower, waiting for his Lordship to make an appearance. Five more minutes and he was out of here.

Luckily he didn’t have to enrage his father and court the possibility of being removed from the board. Howard Stark walked in then, looking like he had just come from a photoshoot. Only experience made Tony’s eyes linger on the concealed dark circles and the slight tremor in his father’s hands.

Howard slapped the NY Post in front of Tony.

“What the hell happened?”  

Giving a cursory glance at the rag which had described the fight with great glee, Tony looked up to meet Howard’s eyes coolly.

“An idiot insulted a friend, I punched him”

Howard’s hands clenched into two tight fists. Tony eyed him carefully. The last time Howard had done something, Tony had given back as good as he had got but he had been furious and grief stricken then. Today he wasn’t in the mood.

Noting Tony tensing, Howard forced a smile with visible effort and sat down stiffly. “Now, we don’t need to get off on the wrong foot almost immediately Tony”.

Tony said nothing but waited for the inevitable blow up. Howard leaned over and took the paper, tossing it into the trash can.

“Dirty little rag” he said with another uncomfortable smile.

Okay. He needed something big from Tony then.

“Did Pepper tell you she is working with us in the marketing department now?”

Tony reminded himself not to puke. “Haven’t seen her in a while” he clipped out.

“That’s a shame. You two were go-“

“What do you want?” Tony demanded, shutting Howard up.

Glowering at Tony, Howard put a hand inside his jacket and tossed over a thick, stiff cream coloured piece of paper. An invitation.

“S.I is celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary and we are holding a gala to mark the occasion. You need to turn up”

“What’s in it for me?” Tony hedged, the word No urging to be spoken. Always look for middle ground, that’s what Dr Bauerstein had told him. Remaking burnt bridges took time.

“You are my heir and the next CEO, that should be enough!” Howard spat.

“Nope”

Howard turned purple and his eyes gleamed in a way that Tony especially remembered. Tony had usually ended up being informed that he was worthless within seconds of that look appearing on Howard’s face. Not today, he told himself firmly.

“If you can’t be bothered to show any interest in this company then I am thinking of kicking you out completely and picking someone who will be worthy of S.I”

Ah. There it was. Tony had always known that this was coming and a conversation he had with Wanda a few days back had only boosted his conviction that what he was about to do was the right thing to do.

“Go ahead”

Howard reared back as if Tony had struck him. “What did you just say?” he hissed in disbelief.

Tony kept his voice steady.

“I said, go ahead. I have managed to build up quite a few contacts myself you know, and they will all back me if I wanted to set up my own company. The initial backing is all I need, I know I can take it places. You on the other hand are stuck in this rut of DoD contracts and let’s be honest- some of your shareholders are only waiting it out until I take over the reins. The company needs a new direction and they know I can give it that. Drop me and you lose that. So the way I see it, I don’t need you-you need me.”

Howard’s harsh breathing filled the room and Tony could see his hands trembling. Howard needed a drink. So did he, if he was being perfectly honest with himself.

“Your mother would have been so disappointed in you today” Howard finally managed to say, his face a mottled purple. Tony tensed. That, he couldn’t. He couldn’t let that one go.

“Don’t talk about her”

Howard took no notice. “She kept yammering at me about how special you were, how smart you were”

“Shut Up”

“-how badly I was treating you, how I was ruining your life”

“Shut. Up”

“-how I needed to start taking more of an interest in you, even the night she died”

“SHUT UP!” Tony roared, nearly knocking Howard off his chair.

They stared at each other, both breathing heavily. “You don’t get to talk about her” Tony said finally in a low, deadly tone.

“She was my wife” Howard spat.

“Who you murdered because you were driving, drunk off your tits and managed to crash the fucking car into a fucking tree! “

Howard glared at him for a moment. “Get out” he finally said, slumping back in his chair. “Get out, you worthless piece of shit”

Tony resisted the urge to put his hands around the throat of the man who was sitting opposite him and marched out, never looking back.

 

 

***********************************************

 

 

Wanda opened the door, only to be confronted by the sight of a visibly furious Tony Stark holding three bottles of Macallen.

“What are you doing?” she screamed as Tony made his way over to the kitchen to pull out a glass.

“What does it look like?!” he spat at her, uncorking the bottle. “I am going to get myself drunk so that I can forget about this shitty world that I live in with its shitty people and just…just find some fucking peace!”

“Are you mad?!”

“Shut up!” he roared right back, needing to yell at someone right now. He was tired of taking crap from everyone and he wasn’t going to take it anymore. He glared at her, wanting to just- break something. Let her leave, Pepper had left, Rhodey would probably leave, he didn’t give a fuck anymore. He turned back to what he needed most right now.

She had tensed but her chin had gone up and she stood facing him with flashing eyes.

“I will call Rhodey” she declared angrily.

Tony laughed harshly, pouring the liquid into his glass with shaking hands.

“Go ahead princess, he is in California right now. You and he can have a nice chat about how I always fuck things up”

She set her teeth and marched over, grabbing the glass and pouring its contents into the sink before he could figure out what was happening. He glared at her in mute fury.

“Either go to your room or get the hell out of my house” he bit out through clenched teeth. “Do that again and there is a very good chance I might actually kill you”

She glared right back. “Fuck you” she spat. “I am not the person ruining his life because daddy upset him”.

“You have no idea what happened!” he screamed at her, sending the bottle smashing against the wall, the resounding crash satisfying something in him. He was so fucking done with this, with Howard and his games, with the constant reminders of his mother, with people pulling him in all sides…all he wanted was to be left alone.

She didn’t even flinch. Fixing him with her most disgusted look she grabbed the dustpan and started sweeping up the broken shards of glass. For some reason that enraged him even more and his hands balled into fists.

“Whatever happened, it is not worth it” she remarked contemptuously. “Only weak men let people push them into bad things”

“I Am Not Weak” he hissed marching over to where she was emptying the glass shards in the recycle bin.

“Really?” she raised one insolent eyebrow. “Is that why one talk with daddy made you ready to drink again? Because you are strong?”

Tony stared at her in impotent fury, so, so…he clenched his fists before grabbing her and forcing his mouth on hers.

Open dammit, open, he thought furiously as he pressed his tongue against her stubbornly closed lips only to be sent back reeling as her fist made contact with his nose. Bloody hell, she definitely knew how to hit he thought as he glared at her, fondling his thankfully unbroken nose.

Biting back a curse Tony glared at her, his own eyes holding hers and meeting her look for look until she screamed something he couldn’t understand and grabbed him by his collar, guiding his mouth back to hers.

All hell broke loose as Tony dragged her back into his arms, fusing his mouth with hers while she scrabbled at his clothes in a desperate bid to tear them off him. He knocked her hands away and raised his own to hold her face in place, making her take and take everything he was giving her, an almost vicious rage consuming his actions. She, true to form didn’t stay down and raised her hands to drag him down even more closer than he already was, grinding against him in a way that nearly sent him over the bend.

“Just sex?” he gasped, surfacing for breath before immediately proceeding to fall on her neck. “Ye-es” she whined as he bit down on the tender skin making her gasp and shudder in his arms.

That did it. The last barrier removed, Tony lifted her, forcing her to twine her legs around him and stumbled into his bedroom before pushing her down on his bed and following her. He tore frantically at her tank top, desperate to get rid of it while murmuring approval and praise as her own fingers made contact with his bare skin after dragging his t-shirt off of him.

The rage had disappeared somewhere between the kitchen and the bedroom and now there was only an urgency and a fierce, dizzying need. He needed her so much, holy hell he needed Wanda so damn much right now- his thoughts blurred as she pressed her lips back against his, even as she struggled to get his jeans off of him.

“Hush, darling, hush” he whispered as her movements became more and more frantic, until she was clawing at them in a futile attempt to tear them off. He nuzzled into her neck as she whined against him, glowering at his inability to divest her of her clothing. He let out a choked laugh at that. Even here, even now she was scowling at him.

Impatiently ripping her bra off, he latched onto one breast, lavishing it with kisses and the occasional bite until she was screaming underneath him making him almost impossibly hard.

“You are a prickly” Tony gasped as he dragged his mouth back to Wanda’s face, “-annoying”, he pressed a kiss on her eyelids,”-hot-headed”, another kiss on her nose, “-temperamental”, he made his way down to her mouth and laughed down at the expression on her face which indicated that she was torn between wanting to fuck him or kill him, “nag.” He concluded by taking possession of her mouth again, delighting in her struggle to gain the upper hand. Christ, she was the most perfect little person he had ever known, he thought as he licked long and deep inside her hot little mouth.

One hand continued his work on her neglected breast, roughly kneading it in his attempt to make her sigh and moan while the other made its way down to that secret little space between her legs. Tony nearly spilled himself when he found her dripping, so, so wet and so goddamn ready.

She mewled as his fingers teased her, opening her up which made him wonder if he would last long enough to even enter her. Apparently she was just as loud during sex as she was in every other aspect of her life, he thought with a grin as she scolded and screamed and begged him to go faster.

Wanda’s eyes narrowed when she saw the grin and with a mulish expression she brought both legs upto wrap around his waist making his cock come directly in contact with her wet heat.

Fuck. “No, no…wait. Condom-wait” he spluttered, all his neuronal circuits going haywire as she rocked herself against him. She shook her head in frustration as he pushed her away from him, by dint of trapping her hands together. “Pill” she snarled. “I’m on the pills”

Fuck teasing her. Tony pushed into her in one hard thrust eliciting a scream from her as he himself shuddered and clung to her at the feeling of her tight, hot walls gripping him. Too much, too much, everything was too much.

“Tony” she murmured soothingly as one hand made its way through his hair and the other made its way to his cheek while he buried his head in her neck . He shook his head, trying to form words.

“Can’t go slow” he gasped. “Too much. Just- can’t”

“Don’t” she said, her voice ringing with certainty. “I don’t want you to”

The last shred of control he possessed disappeared as he thrust into her again and again and again, exorcising everything he wanted to say, everything he felt, everything he needed to let out by this simple act of entering this woman who had suddenly become inexplicably important, over and over. She clung to him, her own movements below him making his thrusts faster and harder until he was finally spilling into her with a shout as she held him close, her own walls contracting around him.


	7. Chapter 7

He pulled at a strand of her brown hair playfully and grinned as she grumbled and turned her head to glower at him.

“You know, I am actually beginning to like that scowl of yours” Tony murmured conversationally. It was about one in the morning if he had to guess and for some reason he wasn’t in the mood to sleep at all. Unlike the woman he was spooning who was desperately trying to ignore him and enter dreamland.

“Could be an evolutionary thing. I rarely see any other expression so my brain convinces me to like the one expression you constantly wear”

Wanda gave a tiny little snore which was so fake as to be pitiable.

“That was just sad” he murmured as he bent down to press a kiss against the nape of her neck.

“I want to go to sleep, idiot. I am tired”

Tony gave a cocky little smile at that. “Probably because we just did it three times” he said smugly, the idiotic grin firmly in place until she elbowed him in the stomach.

“You are no fun” he pouted. “It’s Sunday, we can sleep in”

No response. He went back to sulking.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked hesitantly after some time. “When I …you know, kissed you in the beginning”

“A little” she murmured sleepily. “Which is why I hurt you back”

Tony grinned, gingerly feeling his nose. At least it was proof that Wanda could take care of herself. He pressed an apologetic kiss into her hair making her hum in pleasure.

“So you are okay with this then?” he asked quietly. “Because some women don’t really like the idea of a friends-with- benefits thing-“

She turned to look at him sternly. “I am an adult, _Stark”,_ she said clearly, enunciating each syllable. “I know what I am doing”.

He smiled, relieved. “Okay then”


	8. Chapter 8

Tony whistled as he walked into his building. It had been a good day so far. He had made major progress with his arc reactor project, it was a Saturday and his session with Dr Bauerstein had gone well although the doctor hadn’t been very encouraging about the current status of his sex life. He frowned. One horrified lecture from Rhodey had been enough.

Tony threw his keys on the coffee table and sniffed the air with delight. The warm fruity smell meant that one-Wanda was home, two- she was baking fruit pies. Naturally he made his way straight to the kitchen.

Tiptoeing up to her he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her neck.

“Not in kitchen” was the stern response.

He sniffed. Ever since that- day and nearly four months had passed, they had been at it like rabbits, his libido taking revenge for the long period of celibacy he had imposed on his body. They had fucked on the couch, in the laundry room downstairs, in the closet, in the shower and yet she refused to let him have his way with her in the kitchen. Some sort of hygiene thing.

“How did it go with doctor?” she asked as she rolled out the pastry.

He shrugged. “Fairly good. He is thinking of taking me off medication although I’m only on a very minimal dose at present”

Wanda beamed. “That is good”. She paused for a moment then with a hesitancy uncharacteristic for her asked “Did you talk to him about your father? What happened?”

Tony’s face darkened. “He thinks I ought to try communicating with Howard again. Something about unresolved issues and triggers”. He moved to steal a couple of berries and nearly got all of his hand bones fractured as the wooden roller came crashing down.

“Jesus woman!”

She rolled her eyes.

“He also agrees with you on the meetings thing, by the way” he said, sneaking a few raisins into his mouth. “Thinks I should start going again”

“Good” she declared.

Tony was growing rapidly bored with this conversation. “Did you just start making them or are there any pies in the oven?”

“Nem” she replied, confused.

“Good”. Tony grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before marching off to his bed. He might lose an ear or a nose for this judging by her outraged screams but it would definitely be worth it.

 

****************************************************

 

 

“Worth it” he declared rolling off of her as she gently ran a finger over the scratch marks on his back with something approaching contrition.

“Idiot” she muttered. He laughed at hearing her favourite word and drew her closer.

“What was your family like?” he asked suddenly, making her stare at him with a questioning look in her eyes. “You know almost everything about me yet the only thing I know about you is that you have a brother. What was your mother like?”

She didn’t answer immediately. He looked down at her only to find her face screwed up in concentration as she squinted at something he couldn’t see.

“I don’t remember her face” she finally said in a quiet, bewildered voice as if she had just discovered that. “I remember laughing with her, I remember playing in kitchen with her and I remember what I felt when Papa told us she wasn’t coming. But I don’t remember her face”

Tony took that in. “How did she die?” he asked gently.

Wanda’s face puckered. “The war” she replied dully. “We lived in capital city of Sokovia. Papa had a store of his own and Mama had degree in – she drew and helped build houses. Architect?”

Tony nodded

“She was architect. We lived in a small villa and it was happy and peaceful. Then the rebellion started”.

She surprised Tony by turning to face him and pressed her hand into his. He held it tight as she continued. “At first it was small group and Papa said it was okay because it would be over soon. Then money and guns started coming inside the country from other countries. To both sides. We kept waiting, hoping it would end soon, that everything would go back to normal. But it didn’t, so finally Papa told us we had to leave. We packed whatever we needed and Mama went into the market to buy some food for journey. Next thing we heard- bomb dropped in market.”

“The rebels?” Tony asked quietly, holding her tighter. She wasn’t crying but there was a tautness to her body that betrayed her.

She shrugged. “We don’t know. It could have been them, it could have been government, it could have been from other countries planes. Papa searched through rubble whole night and next day but couldn’t find Mama or…or her body”

She was silent, her eyes glimmering. “His face- I will never forget his face when he told us we had to leave. There were rumours that next strike would happen soon and he wanted to get us out of there” . She gave a bitter smile.”Pietro cried all the way to border. I didn’t”

No, she wouldn’t have. Ten year old Wanda would have gritted her teeth and carried on, while inwardly keeping the hurt and rage alive.

“How bad was it?”

She gave another twisted smile. There was no need to specify what was ‘bad’. “I don’t remember much. There was not much water so I kept sleeping because of dehydration. I remember fighting for food once and every time I had to go to toilet, my father stood guard. Some of the soldiers raped young girls”

Tony felt sick. Violently sick. To even think…words failed him and he could only wrap his arms around Wanda in a hopeless effort to convey something.

“I feel like an asshole for whining to you about my stupid issues” he whispered into her hair.

She shook her head sternly at him. “That is not true. We all have demons to fight”

“I seem to recall a certain Miss Maximoff calling me a pampered rich jackass once” Tony slid in slyly. Wanda glared although a smile tugged at her lips. “I loved him very much” she mumbled in what was both apology and explanation.

Tony gave her a comforting squeeze. From all that he had heard, Anton Maximoff had deserved to be loved like that.

”Besides I am here now, I am safe with a good life. You are still struggling”

“I don’t think I am anymore” Tony said softly. “I was, at one point but now- now I don’t feel the way I used to”

A genuine, little smile appeared on Wanda’s face. “Good”


	9. Chapter 9

Tony nearly groaned as Wanda picked up what was at least the fiftieth sample and took a sip. This was why he stuck to coffee. With tea there appeared to be a hundred different varieties and Wanda was apparently intent on tasting all of them today.

“Come on” he groaned, only to sigh as she shot him her Look of Deathfire. The old geyser she was engaging in this stultifying discussion with, smirked at Tony inducing in him a desire to torch the fucking place.

The door tinkled open, yes it was the kind of place with actual bells, and he turned to see which poor dummy it was that had entered this hell hole by mistake when his worst nightmare walked in.

Pepper. Tall, beautiful, perfect Pepper dressed in a perfect blue jumpsuit looking so…coldly perfect. In the same room as Wanda. He gulped.

“Tony!” she exclaimed and it didn’t miss his attention that her greeting was much warmer than the last time they had met. He blinked when he realised that it had been almost a year since that disastrous party at Thor’s place.

“Yes” she smiled and he couldn’t help smiling back. “It has been a long time”

There was a minute’s awkward silence. Fortunately Pepper was the type of person who knew exactly what to say at all times and she immediately brought up some mutual friends filling the silence. He was soon being regaled with all the gossip and the juicy details concerning SI that he had missed.

“You don’t come around the old haunts anymore” she said finally, with a small smile. He shifted awkwardly. How do you tell someone you nearly had a breakdown and needed professional help without telling just that?

“I met Rhodey, the other day” she said abruptly. “He told me-some things”

Tony closed his eyes. She knew everything.

“Tony, I am so, so sorry” she said urgently. “If I had known-I thought you were just ignoring me, that you didn’t appreciate me but I swear if I had known-“

“You would have stayed?”

She fell silent.

He nodded. “That’s what I thought. We both know Pep, you had no idea how to cope with me”

“I am so sorry” she repeated tearfully. He gave an awkward shrug and shook his head, forcing his lips to curve into a smile. “Not your fault Pep. I had no idea how to cope, how could I expect you to have known?”

“Tony?”

Shit. Wanda.

Grinning as widely as he could he turned to her and in his cheeriest voice asked “Hey, done with your tea tasting?”

Her eyes immediately narrowed. Shit, shit, shit.

Conceding defeat Tony held onto his smile grimly and performed the introductions in his best robotic monotone. ”Pepper this is Wanda, a friend. Wanda, this is Pepper”

“A friend?” Pepper asked, one eyebrow going up while Wanda stood by silently, taking Pepper in.

“Friend” Tony repeated firmly.

Pepper’s face relaxed while Wanda’s tightened.

“Well I just came in to pick up a delivery” Pepper pointed to the bag on the counter, “I have to run but I hope I see you guys again. Will you be attending SI’s gala next week, Tony?”

Tony looked pleadingly at Wanda who gave a firm nod. He sighed. “Yes” he bit out, “Both Wanda and I will be there. She has agreed to suffer through it as my date”

Pepper looked a little startled but she gave Wanda her most gracious smile.

“Will Happy be there?” Tony asked suddenly, because if Happy was coming then Tony definitely needed to book an extra session with Dr Bauerstein.

Pepper’s smile became brittle. “I-no” she stuttered. “Actually Happy and I are on a break right now. Work”. She tried for a smile and made an airy gesture before quickly grabbing her bag and leaving. Tony stared after her, not entirely sure on what to think.

“That is your ex-girlfriend, yes?”

Tony came back to earth and hurried to pick up their bags. The shop was suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

For some reason, the open streets felt the same way too as Wanda continued to ask him questions.

“Why did she leave you?”

He sighed. “After mom’s death I - I wasn’t doing well. I would feel angry and tired and lonely all the time and that scared me. So I ended up partying as hard as I could, drinking and forcing myself to hang out with every single person I knew just to chase that feeling away”

“She left you for that?” Her voice had gentled.

He shook his head. “No, she was fine with that. Took it as a sign that I was dealing well. She knew I didn’t have the best relationship with my parents and thought it was just me recovering faster than everyone else”. He forced out a laugh.

“Unfortunately none of it helped and I ended up – withdrawing. I didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t want to be around people and I kept getting angry. At little things. The only time I felt normal was when I was working. She—she didn’t get that. She thought I was taking her for granted”.

“So she left you” Wanda finished for him grimly.

Tony gave a shaky nod. “I had seen it coming of course. What hurt even more was when she told me that she had been sleeping with one of my best friends. Claimed that I had driven her to it by my behaviour. I don’t know, maybe she was right. It just-just really hurt”

“She was wrong” Wanda said simply. ”You are a idiot and you believe nonsense but don’t believe that”

Tony looked over at her fondly. “You know for someone who is as anti-social as you, you occasionally say the right thing”

She answered him with a disgusted look and a finger.


	10. Chapter 10

“Why is Wanda getting ready here again?” Rhodey asked for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.

Tony let out a deep breath and reminded himself that he couldn’t afford to kill his oldest friend. “I told you, she had a practice session or something like that today. We didn’t have time to go back so we came straight here. It’s not like Howard doesn’t have the space” He gestured to the empty guest room which was probably used last, years ago.

From what he could make out it appeared that the event downstairs was in full swing. He could hear the crowd milling about and if he really concentrated, he could hear Howard showing off.

“Pepper’s down there”

Tony glared. “I know”

“Happy is not there”

“Are you just going to keep telling me who is there and not there?”

Rhodey smirked. “I’m just saying man”

“Don’t” Tony snapped.

Blissful silence. Unfortunately it didn’t last long.

“So, you and Wanda”

Tony groaned.

“Why don’t you just make it official?”

“Because there is nothing to make official Rhodey” Tony gritted out. “We are NOT dating. We are just two friends and roommates who occasionally have sex. Something I would rather not have anyone else know, so shut up”

Rhodey gave a suspiciously loud cough.

“Okay let me get this straight. Are you seeing someone else?”

“No”

“Is she seeing someone else?”

“No”

“So you are two ‘friends’ who live together, spend pretty much most of your time together, go out together and are exclusively sleeping with each other. And you are _not_ in a relationship?”

Tony stared at him speechless. Rhodey smirked. “Hey I’m just a guy in my late twenties, I don’t know what you cool kids are calling it nowadays”

“It’s- it’s not like that” Tony finally stammered, glaring at his so-called best friend. “We are just friends”

Rhodey sighed. ”Look Tones, I know you are figuring things out right now and I am proud of you for that. But I’m going to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago. Stop comparing every relationship you could have with your relationship with Pepper. It’s not going to be like that every single time”

“I screwed up the perfect relationship, Rhodey” Tony said dully

“No you didn’t. You screwed up _a_ relationship, not ‘the perfect’ relationship. And quite frankly both of you screwed that up. I’m not saying-“He lifted a hand to stop Tony from interrupting

“-I’m not saying that you were blameless Tony, but then you had a lot of shit to deal with which she didn’t get. Besides the whole problem with your relationship with Pepper was that you thought her to be this…embodiment of perfection and in your head you put her up on a pedestal. The whole time, it was basically you striving to be the man she wanted you to be and that’s messed up, man.

Relationships are supposed to be about finding a person with whom you can be yourself Tones, it’s not meant to be reform school”

 Tony didn’t say anything. It was the first time Rhodey had ever advanced an opinion on Tony and Pepper’s doomed relationship and it was…weird. He had always seen himself as the reason why everything had gone to hell and to be told this-

“You know my therapist told me some of this stuff already” he said suddenly. “I didn’t believe him.”

“And?” Rhodey was watching him, one eyebrow raised

“And now I do” One side of Tony’s mouth went up. ”I should hook you guys up. You two have a lot in common”

“Is she hot?”

“He is sixty five years old and has a Moses-esque beard”

“I hate you”

Tony grinned.

A muffled curse from the dressing room was followed by a screech. “Tony! Get in here. I told you the zip would stick of this dress”

Rhodey was almost amused by the speed in which Tony obeyed the command. The ensuing remarks made him even more amused.

“Well if you yank a zip like that, of course it’s going to get stuck”

“I told you the strapless was better idea”

“Excuse me, if I wanted you to look good “

“You didn’t want me to look good, you want to torture me”

“Blame it all on me, I suppose the Hurricane Katrina was my fault too”

“Were you in New Orleans?”

“Seriously?!”

Rhodey smiled broadly as he scrolled through his email. Yup, definitely not a relationship.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony looked around the room and yawned. The party while obviously successful, reminded him of the hundred other eerily identical ones he had attended growing up. Apart from major shareholders and colleagues, you had your standard big names in big business, a good proportion of politicians slavering for donations, a smattering of celebrities to pep things up and the usual models-for-hire to make the place look good and give the 150 year old owner of Hammer Industries, his first erection in years.

Expensive china, fine wines, luxurious setting-check. He covered up another yawn and looked around the room for Wanda. He had done his job and now he wanted to leave and go home with his…with Wanda.

He found her standing with her back turned to him, in the middle of a conversation with a waiter who looked oddly familiar, although Tony couldn’t quite see his face. Tony scowled. Rhodey had abandoned him too, choosing to suck up to the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee than spend time with his bored friend. Look well America, that’s what ROTC does to young men.

He focused his attention back on Wanda. She looked ridiculously pretty tonight for some reason, the long ivory gown bringing out the pale pink of her cheeks and the green of her eyes. He had no idea what she was talking about so intently to this waiter-whose-face-shall-remain-veiled but it was clearly an extremely important discussion to have her eyes glowing like this. That’s it. He had stayed long enough. He was going home.

“Tony!”

Or not.

With an awkward grin Tony turned to face Pepper. “Hey” he finally said, having tried and failed to come up with something original. ”You look gorgeous”.

And she did. She carried evening dresses the way she did everything else-with effortless elegance.

She smiled shyly. “You look pretty great in a tux yourself”

“I look great in everything” he quipped, drawing a laugh from her. “I am also extremely modest which makes for a highly, deadly combination”

“I’m sure” she retorted with a mock frown. He grinned back, feeling the old sense of camaraderie he had had with her return.

“How are you Pep?” he asked, suddenly serious.” Really?”

Her smile widened. “Okay, I guess” she said quietly. “But if we are going to play catch up then this isn’t the time or place. How about coffee?”

“Sure. Day after?”

She frowned in annoyance. “I am swamped this week” she said glumly. “Next week?”

He was just about to agree when a familiar voice sounded behind him, sending everything to hell.

“Tony, my boy!”

Pasting an extremely large, extremely fake smile on his face Tony turned to face the owner of the voice, dreading the encounter.

“Dad”. Keep smiling, keep smiling…

Howard, who was accompanied by a few of his shareholders _and_ competitors and who clearly knew what Tony was going through judging by the malicious glint in his eyes, clapped Tony on the back and performed a perfunctory introduction.

“My genius boy, gentlemen!” he said to polite applause

Keep smiling, keep smiling- Tony held on to his smile with the grim determination of a man trying to get out of a crowded subway car.

“Summa cum laude from MIT, in his last year of his _second_ Master’s degree right now, recipient of the Breakthrough Prize _and_ hacked into the Pentagon no less than twenty five times” .He winked as the crowd roared with laughter.

“You however will know him next year as the new Managing Partner of SI and I think –“he beckoned to someone,”-I think that calls for a celebration”

Tony froze as his eyes zoned in on the waiter walking towards them carrying a tray full of glasses and what looked to be a very expensive bottle of champagne.

No.No, no, no even Howard wouldn’t do something like this. Fuck, hell, No.

“Gentlemen” Howard announced to cheers, lifting the bottle of the tray. “This is a Dom Perignon 1961 which I have been saving up for just such an occasion. What better time to open it than on the occasion of SI’s twenty fifth anniversary and my amazing son’s last year in college before he officially joins the SI family?”

Tony stared at him, heart pounding, still unable to believe that Howard was actually doing this. The drumming in his ears didn’t completely block out the whooping of the group as Howard popped the bottle nor did the temporary paralysis that had him standing stock still prevent him from noticing Pepper’s horrified gaze but all he could focus on was Howard, his _father,_ pouring one of the most expensive champagnes in the world into a glass and holding it out to him.

“Here you go, son” He smiled. A wide, happy smile, his eyes shining.

Tony stared at him, feeling and needing to be sick but unable to somehow exert any control over his body.

“Go ahead son, mustn’t keep good liquor waiting” Howard chuckled, prompting another round of braying. He wished he could pour this crap over their heads and set them all on fire.

“Tony cannot drink”

Wanda’s arm slipped through Tony’s as he found himself sagging against her, her own eyes trained on Howard who was looking like he had just found out the UN had declared world peace.

“He is driving” she said calmly.

“Oh come on a little glass won’t do any harm-”

“No”

Wanda had cut him off. She had cut Howard Stark off. Tony was pretty sure no one had ever done that before. The look on Howard’s face was proof.

“Get the car. I’m sleepy” she ordered and Tony thankfully stumbled out the room, tugging his stupid tie off as soon as he got into the elevator. He didn’t remember pressing the buttons but somehow he found himself in the parking garage making his way to his car. Getting in, he pressed his head against the wheel and closed his eyes.

That had happened. That had just happened. Howard who he knew was being kept abreast of Tony’s life by his minions had just done that. Fuck.

He gave a shaky laugh. Life was a sick son of a bitch.

The sound of the door opening and shutting alerted him to the fact that someone else had joined him although she didn’t say anything except for the hand which found its way to Tony’s back. They sat there in silence for some time, Tony trying to understand everything that had just happened while she sat quietly, her hand rubbing comforting circles.

“I didn’t want it” he finally said.

“I know”

He gave another wild laugh. “It should be a happy thing, looking down at a glass of alcohol and not feeling the urge to down it. Doc is going to be so proud of me when I tell him that”

“I am proud”

“It’s just-” He paused, suddenly realising that he was crying.

Her arms went around him slowly and he turned to bury his head in between her breasts while she cradled him like a baby.

“He knew and he is my dad” he whispered, dazedly wondering whether this feeling was what they called getting your heart broken. “He is my _dad_ ”


	12. Chapter 12

Dr Bauerstein regarded the young man sitting opposite him patiently.

“How are you feeling Tony?” he asked again. This time he got an answer.

“Good” Tony shrugged.

“Good?” he asked gently.

“Not bad then” Tony replied impatiently. He wasn’t at his most relaxed today, sitting stiffly in his chair whilst giving monosyllabic answers.

Bauerstein tried another tack. “Have you spoken to Rhodey since last week?”

That got him a weak grin. “Yeah- he called me up to rant about Howard being a world class dick. I don’t think I have ever seen him this furious apart from the time I took his motorcycle apart for parts”

 “A good friend then” Bauerstein remarked.

“Yeah” Tony gave a fond smile. “Yeah, he is “

“What about Wanda? How has she reacted?”

Tony frowned. Wanda had not brought up the gala at all which was strange because if there was one thing she was superlative at, it was voicing her opinions loudly. She had held him close that whole night, placing gentle kisses on his face and hair as he had moved inside her slowly, seeking and gaining warmth from her, holding him tight in the aftermath. And yet the very next day he had felt a change in her which persisted throughout the week. It was as if she was erecting invisible walls between them and gently moving away from him. The realisation left him strangely bereft.

“She is avoiding me” Tony declared.

“Oh?”

“Not noticeably. Nothing has changed on the surface. But somehow I get this feeling that she is pulling away from me and I don’t know why” Tony replied, frustrated at the ever increasing pile of conundrums he had to deal with.

“Why do you think that is?”

“I just told you I don’t know why doc” Tony snapped.

“Can’t you think of a reason why?”

Tony remained silent.

Dr Bauerstein sighed. “Why are you really here today Tony?”

In response, Tony slid his Starkphone over to the doctor who took it and read the text on the screen with an expressionless face.

“Are you going?”

“No”

“Then why are you showing me this Tony?”

Tony sighed. “I hate you sometimes, doc” he mumbled, the words having no visible effect on his therapist.

“Should I go?” Tony finally asked, lifting his head up from his hands to stare pleadingly at Bauerstein.

“Do you wish to go?”

“No, of course not. Maybe just to punch him in the face but otherwise no. Why on earth would I want to see him again?” Tony snapped, feeling unaccountably unsettled.

“He is your father”

“No” This time there was a finality to the statement. ”No father would do what he just did”

Bauerstein sighed again. “Tony, despite your father’s long history of neglect, his frequent belittling of you, the three separate incidents of physical abuse and the tragic circumstances of your mother’s death, you still get injured every time your father tries to hurt you. Why is that?”

Tony glared. “I don’t know, maybe because he is getting better with each incident” he sniped.

“Or maybe there is a part of you, a small one but a part of you nonetheless that loves him despite everything that he is and is ashamed of that”

Tony was quiet for some time before he finally replied bitterly “If there is, then I am an idiot of epic proportions, aren’t I?”

“No” Bauerstein said seriously “Loving someone cannot be something that is wrong Tony. Even if the person in question is unworthy of that love. I keep telling you to confront and find closure with your father not for his sake but for yours, because you will never move on from this destructive cycle if you don’t settle matters with your father”

Tony closed his eyes. “What if he tries to pull the same shit again?” he asked dully.

“He can try” the doctor replied calmly. “But in my professional opinion it would be an exceedingly stupid thing for him to do. His son, no longer seems to me to be possessed of a need beyond his control. A feat he himself is unable to achieve”

A genuine smile made its way across Tony’s face. “Thanks doc” he finally said, ashamed to find his voice husky. Jack Bauerstein smiled back.

“You are welcome, Tony. For what it’s worth, I am proud of you”


	13. Chapter 13

Tony banged on Barnes’s door again.  If he found a naked guy inside, if and when Barnes finally opened the door, he was going to kill Barnes. He was already running late for his lunch.

The door finally swung open and Tony was about to tear into Barnes for being a lazy jerk when he realised that the person standing in front of him wasn’t Barnes. Thankfully he wasn’t naked.

Wait. “Steve?”

Steve it was in all his blonde glory, standing in Barnes’s apartment and smiling bashfully down from his 6ft 2inch greatness.

“Hey Tony” he said shyly. “I’m so sorry about the wait, I was vacuuming and didn’t hear you. Bucky is not here at present, can I help you with something?”

Wow. Tony blinked. Just wow.

“So you and Barnes?” he finally stuttered. Steve blushed.

“Yeah” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “I-yeah”

“That’s great” said Tony, finally remembering his manners. He grinned at Steve. “I don’t get to meet Barnes and my other buddies as often as I would like to so I tend to miss details like this, but I’m really happy for you both”

Steve blushed even more and mumbling something indecipherable, beckoned Tony to enter the tiny apartment.

“Bucky is at the library” Steve informed him after pushing him down into the couch and nearly force- feeding him some cookies his mom had sent which he proudly informed Tony was the best in the world. The guy was so sweet, Tony had a feeling Barnes was now on the kill list of many men right now.

“Something about a horrifying brain-melting test “

“All tests are horrifying and brain-melting to Barnes” Tony responded dryly.

“I know” Steve grinned. “It’s like the world is coming to an end whenever one of those pops up.”

“It’s a funny world” Tony said abruptly after a few seconds of awkward silence. “Wanda told me that day that you were into some guy named Bucky, I just never connected your Bucky to be my Barnes”. He blinked when he realised what he had just said. “Wait, that came out all wrong”

Steve was laughing luckily instead of pulling his fist back because really, this guy could easily floor Tony if he wanted to- thank heavens for small mercies.

“Yeah I had been a real jerk to her that day” Steve said with a shamefaced grin. “It was really good to see her at that party your dad threw and clear things up”

“You were there?” Tony asked astonished. Howard’s guest list didn’t usually include struggling veterans judging by the photo on the mantelpiece, however decent they were. Howard preferred rich assholes.

“Yeah” Steve blushed again. “I was one of the waiters”.

“Oh”. So that’s who Wanda had been talking to.

Steve obviously misread his silence and continued with a trace of defiance in his voice. “Yeah. Bucky is having it hard with those college loans and his part time jobs, I try to take on extra work to help with the rent and utilities and ease up the weight on his shoulders a little”

Tony held up his hands. “Hey man, you are barking up the wrong tree . ** _I_** think what you are doing is amazing. I was just wondering why Wanda didn’t mention meeting you to me”

Steve grinned, a wide gleeful grin. “Well with all the excitement, I’m pretty sure it slipped her mind”

Tony stared at him blankly. Excitement? Had Steve been privy to what had occurred between him and Howard? Tony had been in some sort of a daze during the entire exchange but he hadn’t thought that anyone apart from that small circle of people had paid any attention to the scene.

“What?”

Steve gave him a mischievous smirk. “The whole thing. What she did, it was just amazing. You could see every one of the swells going crazy with no idea what to do”

“What did she do?” Tony demanded, his tone sharpening.

Steve frowned. “Weren’t you there?”

“I left before her to get the car” Tony answered testily. “What did she do?”

“Uh well- I mean, not really my place” Steve stumbled and stuttered, twisting his hands as Tony watched with impatience. ”I mean-are you and your old man close?”

“No”

Steve relaxed. ”Well then I think you will find it funny. I mean I did, not-not that your dad deserved it” he said hastily.

“What did she do?” Tony tried again, digging up his last reserves of patience.

A slow, broad smile spread over Steve’s face. ”She grabbed that frighteningly expensive bottle of champagne and with everyone in the room watching, dumped it all over Mr Stark’s head”

 

 

*****************************************************************

 

 

Tony strode over to the lone figure sitting on one of the benches close to the lake. It was mid-afternoon and the park was relatively free of people.

“You are late”

Tony shrugged and sat himself next to his father. “I had a lunch with Pepper”

Howard grimaced. “So the two of you are getting back together then”.

“I met her, we had a great time catching up and then I left wishing her and Happy all the best”

Howard turned to look at him. “You do realise she is still in love with you”.

“Perhaps” Tony replied, his mouth twisting. “The point is I am not in love with her. Haven’t been for quite some time now” he said quietly.

The sour look on Howard’s face deepened. ”Does that have anything to do with the little savage you chose to bring as your date and who whaled on me in front of every single person whose opinion matters for SI?”

“I heard she gave you a hair wash”

Howard grunted.

“How much money did you have to throw to hush it up?” Tony asked, mildly interested.

“Enough” Howard answered curtly. “Luckily the security detail managed to push us out of the room in time so the crowd only saw what she did, they didn’t hear what she said”

“What did she say?” Tony asked again, this time genuinely interested.

Howard grunted again. “She began with ‘disgusting old man’ and then worked her way up to curses and insults. At the end I wasn’t even sure she was talking in English. Where is she from-Croatia?”

“Sokovia” Tony replied, grinning. He was suddenly filled with the urge to one-up Tom Cruise and do the NaeNae standing on the bench. “You think that’s bad, you should hear some of the things she has screamed at me. I’m pretty sure she once called me ‘the anus of a slutty pig’. Or at least that’s how Google translated it”

Howard snorted his coffee out through his nose.

When he had finally stopped wheezing he leaned back and took a deep gulp of air. ”I’m going to rehab” he announced without a preamble.

Tony stilled.

“She made quite an impression that night” Howard said wryly, his gaze focused on the lake. “Said many things, things I already knew but I guess I needed to hear them from another person”

He waited, however his son had nothing to say.

“The one thing that hurt me the most was when she told me that I was jealous of you” he continued, pausing between each word as if he had to force the words out into the open.

“That stung- badly, because…because it was true. She was right.  I have always been jealous of you. Ever since you were a child. I kept screaming at you that Stark men are made of iron because I was a weak, pathetic man who couldn’t bear the thought that his son was better than him”. He aimed a vicious kick at an empty soda can someone had left on the ground.

“Even now, I am jealous of you. Jealous that you managed to avoid the mistakes that I made and that you managed to get your life back on track while I am stuck in this mess of my own making with no way out. Jealous that you managed to be a better man than me. So fucking jealous that all I wanted to do at that party was to hurt you in some way, any way to prove to myself that you weren’t better than me”

He stopped. There was quiet for some time punctuated only by the sounds of some kids playing nearby.

“You aren’t saying anything” he finally huffed.

“What do you want me to say?” Tony asked in an empty voice. “I am afraid I don’t know the appropriate response to your father telling you that he is jealous of you”.

Howard flinched.

“I am saying that I am-sorry. Sorry for what I did, for everything have done really. I know it’s an apology too late , but for what it’s worth, I am apologizing now”

“Okay”

Howard stared at his son’s impassive face. “So-?” he asked tentatively.

“If you are asking whether we are going to hug and make up now, the answer is no” Tony said, making the breath catch in Howard’s throat. He had expected this but hearing it was different from just knowing it. There was an icy finality to Tony’s words.

“You killed my mom” Tony continued quietly. “I can’t forgive you for that. I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive you for that”.

Howard was silent. There was nothing he could say to that because it was indisputably and painfully true. He had done exactly what he was being accused of and no child on earth was going to forgive someone for doing that to his mother. The cover up he had had Stane orchestrate had only driven Tony away further.

“I am sorry” he forced out, his voice hoarse with emotion. ”Your mother-I knew I shouldn’t have driven that night but I did and I’m so fucking sorry. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t regret that night. And every single night I have to drink myself to sleep because that is the only way I get to sleep without seeing your mother’s face in front of my eyes. I am so, _so_ sorry for that more than anything Tony, so goddamn sorry”

“Sorry isn’t going to bring her back”

They stayed in relative silence for some time until Tony finally stood up. Fixing his sunglasses, he turned to face Howard.

“I’m glad you are getting help” he said slowly. “We are never going to be anything more than we are right now but I don’t want to see you destroy yourself either. She wouldn’t have wanted that too”

Howard answered with a grim nod and watched as Tony walked away with a brief, parting smile.


	14. Chapter 14

Wanda dragged her violin case behind her and struggled to get the door open. It had been a long day and she nearly whimpered with joy as the door finally swung open. Bath, she decided. A nice, hot bath would ease her aches and pains away. She was going to put her violin away, run the taps and then sail away into wonderland.

 “You are home”

Wanda jumped with a scream, whirling around to face a laughing Tony sitting at the kitchen counter. She was about to give him a piece of her mind for scaring the devil out of her when she noticed that the countertop was laid with plates and cutlery while covered dishes emitting a delicious smell stood surrounding what appeared to be an attempt at arranging flowers but actually looked like somebody had uprooted a few straggling weeds and dunked them into a vase.

“What is this?” Wanda asked, glaring at him suspiciously. If this was one of his stupid pranks, she would kill him.

“That “Tony answered, gesturing to the spread “-Is my attempt at the perfect first date”

She stared. He met her look coolly, almost seeming amused by her scrutiny. Wanda’s eyes went back to the arrangement, then to the few scented candles sitting on top of the coffee table, the dimmed lights and then back to Tony. Her mouth thinned.

“You could have warned me” she muttered. “I would have stayed longer at practice if I knew you had date”

“That would have been counterproductive” he replied easily, walking towards her. “I don’t know about you, but in my world it is impossible to have a date without the other half of the couple making an appearance”

She didn’t resist as he grasped her hand and drew her to him but her face remained closed off, the eyes fixed on his face. He lifted one hand to remove the tie that she had used to keep her hair twisted on top of her head while the other ran through the newly released locks. Almost involuntarily she shifted her head to push into his hands, the sensation of his strong fingers massaging her tingling scalp nearly making her moan in relief.

“I don’t know what you are talking about” she finally said.

He grinned and tugged her closer, his free hand winding around her waist and effectively trapping her against him.

“I never thought that you would play dumb. It’s so…antithetical to who you are as a person”

“What does that mean?” she snapped indignantly, jerking her head away from him only to yelp in pain as the hair which was twined around Tony’s fingers stopped the movement. He gave a long suffering sigh. “It means you are an opinionated, hot tempered goose who needs to stop moving while I untangle this knot or you will fucking hurt yourself. Stop moving!” His voice went up as Wanda’s eyes sparked and she tried to drag her head away.

“Or what” she spat.

“Or I will grab a pair of scissors and cut the knot off, leaving you free and with an incredibly stupid haircut” he snapped, at the end of his tether. To his utter surprise, she immediately stopped moving, leaving him blinking.

“Wait, did I just find your Achilles Heel?” He asked in amazement, crowing as she sent him a resentful glare but remained silent. Well, well, well, Wanda Maximoff was attached to her hair. ”And here I thought you had no girlish traits whatsoever” He chuckled while gently untangling the strands.

“I am not the person who puts three different product in hair”

Right. Moving on.

“You know, this isn’t how I imagined our date happening” he complained as he released the last strand, only to jump back as she aimed a kick at him.

“Stop saying that!”

“Why not?”” he exclaimed, laughter, irritation and anger vying for the upper hand in him. Nothing with her was ever easy while at the same time it was the easiest thing in the world. She was the Schrodinger’s version of a life partner.

“Because it is not true! Also you never asked “

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fine. She was right. He had never asked and that was a dick move to be honest.

“You are right” he said, opening his eyes. “Wanda Maximoff, would you like to have dinner with me under the strict understanding that it is a date?”

She stared at him, her eyes wide and dark.

“No”

He didn’t say anything mostly because there was no immediate response to that. Her eyes were glimmering suspiciously but she met his look boldly, her chin tilted firmly up.

 “Why not?” he asked after a beat.

“I don’t want to. I don’t like you that way”

“Bullshit”

She glared at him. That’s it. He was done with poetry and all the helpful tips that the Internet had offered him because Wanda was Wanda and she responded only to plain Tony Stark, not the internet. Stepping forward, he placed both of his hands on her shoulders firmly, forcing her to stay in place.

“I dare you to look me in the eye and repeat that statement and don’t even bother lying to me because I’ll know. Every time we have debated the question of who finished off all the marshmallows in the Lucky Charms should have established that by now”

There was a long pause. “Shut Up” she finally muttered.

He relaxed. One wall down.

“Then why?”

“Because I don’t want to be second choice!” she finally screamed, sending him stumbling backwards with a strong shove. “I won’t be second choice” she repeated, keeping her voice steady although two fat tears had already made their way down her cheeks. “Not even yours”

He held her gaze. “I’m not asking you to be”

“Pepper-”

“There has been nothing between Pepper and me for nearly a year now though I only realized that recently” he bit out impatiently. “A certain green eyed moron has been keeping me busy, if you hadn’t noticed”

She was openly crying now making him once more take her into his arms, consequences be damned. He briefly wondered whether the ER would understand if he told them that his girlfriend had broken his arm because he told her he loved her. Luckily her temper seemed to have taken a backseat to tears. A first.

“Hush darling” he whispered, cuddling her close. “I am not your darling” she sobbed, valiantly keeping up her efforts to push him away which were unfortunately being undercut by her own encouragement of his embrace.

“Of course you aren’t” he replied equably, praying that he wouldn’t laugh. “I can hate you if it makes you feel better. Whatever you want”

“We have different relationship” she choked out, sniffling into his t-shirt. He grinned, wondering whether finding snot coming out of her nose as adorable confirmed that he was whipped. ”Nope” he replied, tugging her onto the couch along with him. ”Same relationship which we called by a different name because we were idiots. Rhodey picked up on it first, which means we are going to have to endure him teasing us about it for at least a year”

 “You hate me” she wailed, still engaged in a full blown pity-party. ”You call me nag all the time”.

Tony debated whether or not to laugh. On one hand, this was bordering on the ridiculous. On the other, she could potentially remove his testicles, considering the state she was in.

“In my defence, you are a nag” he began cautiously, making her tear up again. Okay, new move required.

“Wanda, I don’t hate you and I think you know that very well”

She hiccupped but said nothing. He grabbed some tissues off the coffee table and offered them to her, watching fondly as she loudly blew her nose.

“Feeling better?” he asked as she finally emerged with bloodshot eyes, her face red and blotchy. God, she was gorgeous. His grin grew as she nodded, carefully and determinedly avoiding his eyes.

“Honey, look at me”

She continued attempting to set fire to the sofa rug by glaring at it. He shrugged. Fine, if that’s the way she wanted to play it.

“Wanda Maximoff, I am in love with you” he announced coolly, biting back a laugh as her head snapped back so fast, she nearly fell off the couch. 

“Get Lost” she snapped angrily as she righted herself and quickly moved to the opposite end of the couch. He rolled his eyes. “Not the response I was expecting”

“You expect me to believe that I am suddenly not-nag?”

“Nope. Still a nag. I expect you to believe that I love you”. He smiled at her bewildered face.

“There’s a quote by….some guy” he said mischievously. “The universe has a sense of irony, and sometimes you get reminded just how sadistic that can be. Sums up my feelings when I found myself in love with you”

He ducked to avoid the TV remote.

Laughing, he scooted over to crowd her against the arm-rest. He nuzzled into her neck, his hand coming up to hold her steady as she arched her neck reflexively, giving him more access. With one last lingering kiss, he pulled away. Not now.

“I am in love with you” he repeated, staring into her wide, green, tear-filled eyes. ”All of you. Sociopathic tendencies and all” he quipped, yowling as she pinched him.

“Why?”

“Because you are you” he replied simply. “And I can't imagine a life without you".

He didn't say anything else. He didn't need to because she knew him and she didn't need him to.

“I love you too” she whispered quietly after a moment,making him duck down and press another kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I was upset when I thought-when you and Pepper-”

He silence her with another firm kiss. “Pepper and I no longer exist” he said firmly, when he finally surfaced, delighting in the way her breathing had changed. The way she went pliant underneath him never failed to make him go all kinds of mad. In a good way. “If you mention her one more time, I will throw out all the tea we have in this house”

Her eyes narrowed. “You should stop talking” she grumbled. ”You are ruining the moment”

He chuckled. _She_ was telling him to stop talking? “Leaving aside the incredible hypocrisy of that statement let me inform you _darling,_ that since relationships are about equal distribution of power I get to talk however long I want to –“

She pulled her tank top down.

Okay.

“You want to say?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

“That I love you and I am yours to command” he said fervently, ignoring her giggles to lean down and capture her lips in a kiss.


End file.
